GUN SWAT under scrutiny

The city's SWAT team was disbanded in November after officials learned of racy pictures taken during a trip team members made to the New Orleans area in 2006 to help Hurricane Katrina victims. The photos show the unit's commander and other officers posing with waitresses from a Hooters restaurant in Alabama who appeared to be holding police firearms.

While I don't necessarily see a problem with the photos, other than with the commander. Dude looks like he's trying to actually get with the girls. All of the other guys were just posing for pictures. And at least they all exercised proper trigger avoidance.

While the punishment will be more severe for that (as it should be), you don't think they would have had some explaining to do over the pictures not including the firearms?

Best to just not do stupid shit in the first place, but if you are going to, don't create evidence showing what you did

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You'd have some mouseketeer just complaining that they ate dinner at a place that serves alcohol, but at the end of the day its hooters, not a strip club. It would be much easier to dismiss it as guys doing a tough job and helping out some people in need blowing off steam after a long day until they start giving the waittresses guns.

the pics with the girls would be a reprimand publicly, a high five privately.

The moment weapons are shown in the hands of civies though, that's it.

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There's your problem. Police are civilians. There is military, and there is civilian. Police are civilians.

The only time police are differentiated from "civilians" is in a police state, where the military operates on domestic soil, and police are funded/trained by military and work in cooperative partnership with military forces. Thankfully the U.S. isn't a police state, right?

As for the Hooters girls: if the weapons were properly cleared and safed, how is it any different from a professional photo shoot? The SWAT guys should be trained well enough to understand safety. What might be more of an issue, to me at least, would be whether or not they were handling the weapons while inebriated. Otherwise a slap on the wrist is in order; they should then be told not to ever do it(get caught) again.

Honestly I don't see the problem. Hooters is no worse than TGI-Fridays or Red Robin, imo... And taking a picture with the wimenz is nothing bad. Heck we've taken company trips to sporting events and we'll get pics with teh cheerleaders.

As for firearms, as long as they're unloaded and properly handled, who cares? There's worse things to get upset over.